US Workers Stressed Out

Additionally, 14% of employee respondents say that their
employer only promotes workers who habitually work
late.

Over a third (34%) say their jobs are so demanding they
have no down time at work. Thirty-two percent work
and eat lunch at the same time, while a similar 32% never
leave the building once they arrive, according to the
national survey sponsored by Oxford Health Plans.

Under Pressure

While most employers are accommodating, survey
respondents said:

19% said they feel they must come to work even if
sick

19% say their job makes them feel older than they
are

17% claim that work causes them to lose sleep at
home

17% said it is tough to take time off or leave work
for an emergency

8% said they would be fired or demoted if they became
seriously ill.

Vacation Break?

The survey’s authors cited research from the State
University of New York at Oswego in Sept. 2000 that found
that regular vacations lowered the risk of death among men
by almost 20%. A second study by researchers using
the Framingham Heart Study data in 1992 of found frequent
vacations cut risk of death among all women by half.

The average US worker gets 13 vacation days, compared
with 42 in Italy, 37 in France, 28 in Great Britain, 26 in
Canada and 25 in Japan. Japanese workers, however, are
known not to take the vacation days they are entitled
to.